September 9, 2012

Hakuhodo Haul

My Hakuhodo haul at last! I know some of you have been asking to see what's in this little box since I've posted a teaser post last week. I didn't want to taunt you that way - I had intended to post something the next day but life has been 'a bit' crazy last week and I just couldn't do it. Having a full back-to-back meeting programme Monday to Wednesday, followed by a project workshop on Thursday, then a Friday that was all about relocation and new job possibilities. It's amazing how much you can achieve in a week when you set your mind to it.

I purchased a total of 6 brushes from Hakuhodousa.com. Shipping costs $12, which takes 10 working days with no insurance or tracking. I was curious to try these brushes but didn't want to pay exorbitant customs and import taxes in the EU. So I shipped them to my hotel in Singapore. Alas, by the time I needed to leave, the brushes were not even there yet. It arrived the next day and I had to get my colleague to carry it from Singapore to Denmark 2 weeks later.

The parcel arrived in a bubble envelope, enclosed with a US white small parcel box, and then further encased with the lovely Hakuhodo cardbox that you see above.

When I managed to receive my little box, you wouldn't believe how deliriously happy I was. I thought I 'll never retrieve this after my little hit-miss incident.

Each brush is packaged in a thin slip of plastic. Some of the brush heads were packaged in a white semi-flexible plastic that held everything together.

It's easy to get carried away with the massive varieties of brushes. I had to contain myself to only 5 brushes - although, one more managed to sneak in at the last minute. My suggestion is to take your time to browse through the selections. Also, do head over to Delicate Hummingbird, Glossed in Translation, Lola's Secret Blog, and YouTuber Debbick1 for more extensive reviews on their various brush lines. I bought a mixture of the G brushes (mostly), Kokutan and one single basic brush. The B and G line contains some repeats of the more expensive S line, so I opted for something slighter cheaper.

On second thoughts, I wished I had bought more of the Kokutan line. The wooden handle is exquisite and so finely made.

During the last week or so, I have managed to try each of these brushes and my conclusion is that each one blew my expectations out of the water!

Unfortunately, the brushes are not labelled with their name - I have to reference to my original receipt to be absolutely sure that these are the correct product names.

From top to bottom:

B103BkSL Powder Blush Brush pointed ($72)

Made of goat hairs. 50mm. Dense. Very little shedding - only saw one or two hairs falling out but that's all. The shape is tapered to a point, which makes it very easy to apply cheek highlighters. Absolutely divine and I consider it a must-have!

Kokutan Finishing Brush L ($116)

Made of Blue Squirrel Hair and Synthetic fibres. 50mm. Medium density with a lot of give. Incredibly soft and a pleasure to use. No shedding at all. Applies a thin sheer layer of loose powder. Probably one of the most softest brushes I have ever used.

G5556-4mm Powder & Liquid Brush Round/Angled ($69)

Made of goat and synthetic fibres. 26mm. Dense and packed. Similar to the Sigma F81 flat top brush, except with better quality. This one here is slightly angled (at about 15 degrees or so), with different lengths of hairs. The synthetic hairs are slightly longer than the goat hair. Great to buff in liquid foundation or cream products.

235 Eye Shadow Brush Round and Flat ($30)

Made of weasel and synthetic fibre. 14mm. Similar to the MAC 272, but the brush head is slighly larger and stiffer. Useful for cream eye products - not a must have if you already own the MAC 272 brush.

G515 Eye Shadow Brush CM Angled ($41)

Made out of Canada Squirrel. 15mm. Angled at 45 degrees and nicely packed. The quality of the bristles are so exquisite (again) and blending/packing of eyeshadows on the outer corners of the eyes is just flawless and easy to use. It gives a soft wash of color, and to me that is perfect, since I hate to correct harsh lines. This is probably the best eyeshadow brush I have ever used. A must have.

G5520BkSL Eye Shadow Brush Pointed ($21)

Made out of blue squirrel and goat hairs. 8mm. Tiny brush head and half the size of the MAC 219 pencil brush. Used to blend and smudge dark eyeshadows on the lash line. Nifty little thing and useful to also bring out the intensity of brighter shades.

Although six brushes may seem quite a splurge, I definitely feel like I should have bought more. I see myself getting hooked onto this brand already and possibly even selling my MAC brushes.

Do you own anything from Hakuhodo? If so, what are your favorites and must haves?

I have some Hakuhodo brushes and love them (and my Chikuhodo brushes of course, haha). I only have one MAC brush - 217, the only one I can't dupe with either Hakuhodo nor Chikuhodo. I especially like their face brushes, they are worth every $$$. Very nice choices Tracy / Claire

Hi Ruby, $116 seems quite a bit for a single brush but their quality is outstanding and you won't be able to find an equivalent from MAC. I can't remember how much I had paid for the MAC 132 - I think it was also $100+. Both brands are in the same price range.